BEACON – A small crowd attended a panel on tick education and Lyme disease in Beacon High School Thursday evening, hosted by Dutchess County Legislator Donna Bolner (R, East Fishkill, Lagrange and Wappinger).
Bolner, who has been chairwoman of the Dutchess County Tick Task Force since 2013, and other local political figures shared their efforts in this regard on Thursday night.
State Senator Susan Serino (R, Hyde Park), chairwoman of the State Senate Tick Task Force, mentioned her work on a bill with Assemblywoman Didi Barrett (D, Hudson) that will focus on health insurance coverage for New York State residents dealing with Lyme disease. She also pointed out the lack of funding overall this year geared towards Lyme disease education and prevention.
“The government didn’t put any money in the budget this year for Lyme disease, and we fought for it and got a million dollars,” Serino said. “This is the most money we have but it is helping us with the research.”
On the federal level, Ryan McAllister, district director for Rep. John Faso (R, NY-19), shared legislative developments from the congressman on this front. Those include the Lyme Disease Research Stamp Act, which will use a U.S. postage stamp to raise money for Lyme disease and other tick borne-related illness research. Both Faso and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) are on the House Lyme Caucus.
The panel’s speakers were Mason Kauffman of the Tennessee-based US Biologic and Dr. Brian Fallon of Columbia University Medical Center. Each offered perspectives on prevention efforts and the evolving science behind detecting Lyme disease.
“The goal is really to make New York a healthier and safer place to live, work and play,” said Kauffman. “When I look at it, it’s not just a private solution; you can protect your own backyard. But then you come down to a public park and you can’t protect the park just because you come from the neighborhood. Finally people are recognizing that Lyme disease is not simple,” added Dr. Fallon. “We can do things that we couldn’t do 10 or 15 years ago.”
This includes genome sequencing, a procedure that used to cost between $500 million and $1 billion. Now, the cost can be as little as $800.
Each presentation was followed by a 10-minute Q&A session from the audience. Topics included the efficacy of animal testing for Lyme treatment as well as the stigma surrounding diagnosis of Lyme disease.
